Boss Mick McCarthy has hinted that he’s considering changes of personnel ahead of next week’s game at bottom-of-the-table Blackpool.

Although the Blues have lost only once in 10 matches, Saturday’s 2-2 home draw with Huddersfield stretched Town’s winless run to five.

Reflecting on Saturday’s game, in which the Terriers came back from two goals down with 20 minutes remaining, McCarthy said: “There’s nothing I can do about it now except have a look and see, and there’ll be other lads who’ll be wanting to play.”

Tyrone Mings will be available again after his one-match ban, while Jonny Williams and Kevin Bru missed Saturday’s game with minor niggles and should be back for the visit to Bloomfield Road.

The likes of Stephen Hunt, Paul Anderson and Jay Tabb have been in and out of the team this season, while Cameron Stewart, Darren Ambrose and Jack Collison will be hoping to come into McCarthy's thoughts.

Ambrose, who has twice appeared as a late sub, and Collison and Stewart, who are yet to appear in the first-team matchday 18, could be amongst those in action when a Town XI take on Hampton and Richmond in a friendly on Tuesday. Today's scheduled U21 game at Cardiff has been postponed.

Ultimately, McCarthy saw his side holding on for the draw as amongst the few positives he could take from Saturday’s game: “We got a point, we could have lost it. When they equalised, they were on top and we’ve had to scrap it out.

“We got the point, as much as I’m disappointed that we’ve shipped a two-goal lead. And we got a couple of goals from defenders.”

Premier League scouts were again at Portman Road en masse despite Mings’s absence with Teddy Bishop the reason for their visit on this occasion, according to one of Sunday’s tabloids.

Speaking shortly after Bishop broke into the side, McCarthy said that scouts would already be well aware of the academy product's first-team impact.

Photo: Action Images

bluefeast added 06:54 - Oct 27 hunt tabb anderson are not impact players. so why are they in the squad at the moment. If we are winning they weaken us and if we were losing they dont really offer anything. Salmon has offered nothing whilst starting and has actually disturbed the impact of DM in my opinion.
15

hogster1970 added 07:00 - Oct 27 you hit the nail right on the head there blue fest, either go 442 with hyam and williams in the middle and henshall out left and stewart or anderson out right. or stick with 433 now mings is back and have hyam as the anchor with bru and bishop and williams up top, then we will see a different team
6

Stato added 07:43 - Oct 27 Our development squad should be beating Blackpool. Shame no competition for goalkeeping position
1

Lord_Mac added 08:00 - Oct 27 Isn't it time for a change of goalkeeper - Gerken was like an oak tree on Saturday and the whole defence became more jittery
1

JackITFC96 added 08:00 - Oct 27 Surely colisson is worth a go?
4

PattiswickBlue added 08:05 - Oct 27 Collision and Stewart have to at least be on the bench for me !! Need some more class on the bench it was an awful bench against Huddersfield
12

brittaniaman added 08:40 - Oct 27 Gerken does seem shaky at times, but MM. will not rest him, I suppose the reason is that Bialowski has not been tried and tested ?? It is a great pity we could not have got one of the three available goalkeepers at the time when they were about.!!! Stockdale, Henderson, and Westwood, Yes MM there will be changes at Blackpool Mings, Williams and Bru should be available again !!!!!! who else only you know ???

-1

walberswicks added 08:49 - Oct 27 Bring back Nouble.
-10

willwright added 09:03 - Oct 27 Need to get 442 again because on Saturday there was no width in the midfield and Huddersfield full backs had loads of room to run in and created chances. Need mings back and Williams to spark attacks
1

Ipswich121 added 09:33 - Oct 27 I'd like to see this team, test it vs Blackpool Gerken Parr Chambers Berra Mings Bru Hyam Bishop Williams Mcgoldrick Murphy Hyam used to play the holding role until MM tried to change him into more of a box to box midfielder, but now we have that I'd like to see him back in the holding role.
1

naa added 09:47 - Oct 27 The bench needs to be for tactical changes. We either need impact players like Henshall and Stewart or someone who can come in and shore it up (no idea who that could be!). McCarthy has done amazing things for us but his Anderson and Tabb sub plans regardless of what is happening on the pitch is pretty disappointing. Hyam should be the holding midfielder, I agree and he needs someone who can control a game next to him, and I don't think that is Skuse personally. If only we'd signed Garvan back. But for the moment, William should be that man. Sammon hasn't actually been as bad as I thought he would be. He makes good runs and brings the other strikers into the game. But without the fullbacks pushing on (as they didn't on Saturday) our midfield is easily overrun and the 4-3-3 doesn't work in those situations. If McCarthy does have a flaw it is a tactical inflexibility during games to see what needs fixing and sort it. Though it's not entirely his fault that our squad is so thin that when one fullback gets suspended we have to change three defenders to accommodate it.

6

Orraman added 10:30 - Oct 27 I doubt very much if MM reads these forums - after all, what do we know? He has played and managed at the highest levels and apart from possibly a few contributors very few of us have played the game at a serious level - so what do we know? What we do know, and it seems from recent forums that we, as a good cross section of ITFC supporters are united on two subjects 1 Why can't MM see past Anderson, Tabb and Hunt? 2. Where are Stewart, Henshall and Collinson. Perhaps he has read the forum on the Hudddersfield game and has decided to make the changes he is hinting for the Blackpool game. More likely it will be the much needed return of Mings, Bru and Williams and as good as that would be, it would be great to see some pace delivered by our absent wingers.

2

muccletonjoe added 10:32 - Oct 27 We do need wide men either in the team or on the bench but it is up to henshall and Stewart to pull their fingers out and force their way into the squad. They are not going to get there otherwise
2

sotd78 added 10:45 - Oct 27 How about playing the system you have the players for. So forget 433 when you've got no fullbacks capable of getting forward. Stop trying to fit players to systems...fit systems to what you got.
-1

SouperJim added 10:49 - Oct 27 I really don't think we're doing much wrong. Other teams have found out about us a little bit, but it's very fine margins which we've been on the wrong side of recently. But for a bit of luck we would have won our last two home games comfortably. We should have scored more than one against Blackburn and Huddersfield were out of the game until they got, what I feel was, a very generous penalty. These things happen in football sometimes and tinkering with the side too much is not the answer.

1

Lightningboy added 11:08 - Oct 27 Let's not start panicing...it is still only 1 defeat in 10 and we have been in winning positions..I just expect Mick's teams to be more solid when ahead in matches...it seems at the moment that even if we go and score 4 or 5 we go and let in 4 or 5. I still think we are missing the final 2 pieces of the jigsaw : A solid commanding goalkeeper..Gerken & Bialkowski both seem to be much of a muchness. & A central midfielder who can get 8 - 10 goals a season & control the pace of the game (ala Magilton).

0

battyblue added 11:58 - Oct 27 MM will not start with Stewart Henshall etc until he has no other option which is what happened with Teddy Bishop and the same happened with Hyam long time back who wasn't considered until injuries forced the issue, Would like to see Bialowski given a try in goal but that will not happen unless Gerken gets crocked i doubt. Would like to see what
2

dalianwasexciting added 12:30 - Oct 27 Some good posts on here, particularly appertaining the "Hunt, Anderson, Tabb" triumvirate. Bluefest has it spot on with his assertions. I too would like to see Bialowski given his head, whilst it is only you tube clips, there is loads of evidence of just what a good shot stopper he can be. Also width is needed and whether we start with Henshall/Stewart/Ambrose wide is the question. Personally back to 4-4-2. Bialowski, Parr, Chambers, Berra, Mings Hyam (holding), Williams, Bru, Ambrose. Murphy McGoldrick A bench of Gerken, Smith, Collison, Henshall, Sammon, Clarke, Hunt.

2

walberswicks added 12:31 - Oct 27 why have we got a squad of journeymen who can't even get on the bench? let alone get in the team? stewart, baijner, bru. veseli, Hewitt, wordsworth. henshall. taylor, ambrose, nouble, collinson. we may have spent only 50k on players bbut we're carrying a second team of no hopers who must be costing around £8m to pay their wages.
-3

walberswicks added 12:33 - Oct 27 oh what on earth does Sammon bring to the table, 3 goals in 3 years?
0

dalianwasexciting added 12:34 - Oct 27 Meant to edit my team choice...for some reason on the bench had Hunt and not Bishop, who of course it should be!
1

Stato added 12:38 - Oct 27 Mick has gone from always playing 442 to always playing 433. Blackpool are bottom and at home so can't see them parking the bus so potentially an open game. I don't care what formation we play but be nice to see Mick set the team up in a way that didn't encourage such long and direct balls up to big powerful forwards with a bunch of terriers in midfield looking to gather scruffy clearances from under pressure defenders. It's been effective often enough but just not very entertaining.

1

dalianwasexciting added 12:41 - Oct 27 Walberswicks - I would not describe all of those as journeymen. Ambrose has hardly been given a chance, Stewart was a key signing who has been out with injury so judgement has to be reserved, Bru has come on leaps and bounds and looks a real find and Collison "may" have the extra bit of class needed in this division. Finally Henshall must consider himself unlucky to have not had game time, he was excellent coming on at both Birmingham and Forest.

3

BrettenhamBlue added 12:47 - Oct 27 Would like to see: Bialkowski Chambers Berra Smith Mings Ambrose Bishop Collison Tabb Bajner Sammon Need to rest some of our key players. Team is looking lack-lustre and very tired. Some of these players should be given the chance to impress.
-11

HALLSJ added 12:59 - Oct 27 Bajner & Sammon!!!!PJewellisagod have you lost it?
7

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls